Comcast, DirecTV settle suit, agree all HD looks excellent

Comcast and DirecTV have settled a lawsuit over Comcast's claims that its HD …

In the competition for customers between cable and satellite providers, one of the key selling points is HD. Who has more high-def channels? Whose HD programming looks the best? A Comcast ad campaign touting its HD picture as superior to DirecTV's led to a federal lawsuit last May; that suit has now been settled amicably.

The ad campaign in question was launched last spring. It cited a survey commissioned by Comcast in March in which two-thirds of the respondents said that Comcast's HD picture looked better. As the advertisements read, "Two-thirds of satellite customers expressing a preference between Comcast and DirecTV and between Comcast and Dish Network said Comcast delivered a better HD image."

DirecTV took issue with the ads, saying that the survey did not support Comcast's claims. "Comcast's advertising and promotional claims, including the aforementioned, are literally false," argued the satellite provider in its complaint. Comcast, in turn, cited the opinions of consulting firm Accenture and law firm Loeb & Loeb validating the survey and testing process.

Both companies say that they're "pleased" with the settlement, which is confidential. Comcast will be able to continue citing the survey results in future advertising, however, so it's unclear if DirecTV gained anything aside from a heap of legal bills.

The settlement with Comcast wraps up the last legal tiff between DirecTV and its cable competition. Last August, a lawsuit filed by Time Warner Cable accusing DirecTV of false advertising was settled. Time Warner took issue with DirecTV commercials starring Jessica Simpson and William Shatner that claimed "For an HD picture that can't be beat, get DirecTV." DirecTV was barred from running some of its advertising, while other ads were green-lighted. DirecTV had also sued Cox Communications for citing the Comcast study in its advertising; that case was settled last week.

A trial featuring experts testifying about the overall quality of each provider's HD picture may have been edifying, but for the majority of viewers, the HD picture from either satellite or cable will be more than adequate. For some customers, the number of HD channels may prove to be the deciding factor. It matters to me, anyway—our DirecTV HD TiVo just got demoted to the basement (SD) set in favor of a new DirecTV-branded DVR so that I could the full DirecTV HD lineup.

Right now, the satellite companies have the lead in terms of raw numbers of HD channels. That equation will change as cable providers begin using technologies like switched digital video and IPTV to deliver programming.